The Council opened with the public hearing regarding the
Resolution 2017-03 agreeing to apply for financial assistance with the USDA,
Rural Development to finance the wastewater rehabilitation project.The Council passed and approved this resolution.

Aye votes:Chris,
Casey, Corey, Terry, Jay

Nay votes:None.

No person from the public attended the public hearing which
was posted and advertised.

The Council discussed drafting a resolution for a new water
meter charge of $3.00 per meter.The Council
will discuss at the July meeting.

The Council voted on the Resolution 2017-04 regarding the
transfer of $37,000 garbage surplus funds to use for the new water meter
project.The Council passed and approved
this resolution.

Aye votes:Chris,
Casey, Corey, Terry, Jay

Nay votes:None.

The Council voted on the Resolution 2017-05 regarding the
transfer of $28,000 Local Option Sales Tax funds to use for the new water meter
project.The Council passed and approved
this resolution.

Aye votes:Chris, Casey,
Corey, Terry, Jay

Nay votes:None.

L.L. Pelling is scheduled to start road work mid-July.

Casey made a motion to approve payments to Davidson Tree Service,
Chariton Library, and Washington Township Cemetery and Terry seconded the
motion.

Aye votes: Chris,
Casey, Corey, Terry, Jay

Nay votes:None.

The Council decided to hold July’s Council meeting on July
11 due to the holiday and Council members available.

Duane stated that Austin Smith from Garden & Assoc.
would need to make a final plan for the sewer project.Duane will speak with Austin again regarding
costs of making a final plan and consulting fees.

The Council discussed the sewer needs and what to address
first.Duane mentioned that in 2019, the
Ecoli and nitrogen limits will go into effect.Casey stated that if sewer pipe repairs are made, that it could change
the needs of the lagoon project.The UV
sewer program was discussed and the increased operating costs of the UV
system.It was discussed that not all
problems have been identified through the camera testing of sewer lines.

Jim brought up that the tractor mower was not working and
the quoted repair cost could be over $6500.The Council discussed hiring someone for a period to mow road ditches.

Casey stated she would be donating materials and painting
the bandstand.Chris stated that benchs
donated by Peggy Fulks need to be set up also.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Russell has
been privileged to reap the benefits of the State sponsored (USDA) school lunch
program through the Chariton school district. Each weekday, so far in June, up
to 32 youth have eaten free meals at the Russell Museum. From 11:10-11:35 a
meal can be eaten at the Library/Museum for ages 1-18. There is no enrollment
or costs for the meals. The last days for the free meal is through Friday, June
30th.

Vacation
Bible School

Faith United Methodist Church will
have Vacation Bible School, Monday through Thursday, July
10-13 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The theme will be Hero
Central: Discover Your Strength in God. Children from 3 years
of age (must be potty trained or have an adult with them) through 5th grade.
Come join the fun! We will have snacks, singing, Bible stories and
crafts. The program will be Thursday, July 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the
sanctuary with refreshments to follow.

Chris made a motion to approve the minutes from the May
Council meeting and the May 10 Special Meeting; Terry seconded it.Motion carried unanimously.

Chris made a motion to approve the income and expense
reports and Terry seconded it.Motion
carried unanimously 5-0.

Police – the police car is getting radar unit inspected; the
part for the light bar is being delivered soon.Chris asked if Jeff Johnson could work without the lights on the City’s
junk and debris problems.Duane will
talk to Jeff about it.

The Council discussed property owners’ responsibility for
their property maintenance.The Council
discussed abandoned house properties.

Chris reported on the Fire Dept. for Brian Beaty.Alec Reynolds has started on the fire
department.

Jim reported on Water – Jim pumped the old well out a few
thousand gallons.

Sewer – a pump is not working.Jim will check the motor.The lagoon is running 46 gallon per minute
while it has been dry.

Streets – Jim stated that road safety signs are still on
sale until July.Jim has been working on
hole patching after getting a load of cold patch.The road grater and backhoe are back
together.Repairs have been done to the
lawn mower; work needs done to mower tractor.Jim got pricing on a John Deere offside brush cutter at approx. $7900.

L.L. Pelling will be starting road re-surfacing after the 4th
of July.Jay asked that this be put on
the agenda for the June 20 special meeting so Council could keep up on
scheduling of road work.

Council discussed road safety signs and tool purchases and
will finish discussing at the special meeting being held June 20 at 6 p.m.

Under old business, the Council discussed the water meter
project for FY17-18.Jay made a motion
to use garbage surplus funds of $37,000 and $28,000 from local option sales tax
for a total of $65,000 for the project.Chris seconded the motion.The
motion carried unanimously.Terry made a
motion to order the meters and Jay seconded it.The Council will prepare resolutions at the June 20 meeting.There was discussion about adding a meter
fee.

Duane and Kris will check into amending the ordinance for
rate increases and the process for that before the June 20 meeting.

The Council discussed an additional loan from the USDA Rural
Development for the sewer project of lining pipes to the lagoon.The Council will publish a public notice for
the June 20 meeting so the public has a chance to attend and make comments.

Chris made a motion to extend the Council meeting past 9
p.m. and Terry seconded it.The motion
carried unanimously.

New Business - A copy of the unsigned Quit Claim deed was
reviewed for the Great Western bank bldg. in Russell.The Council decided to check on companies
available to do commercial building inspections before proceeding.

Duane called the meeting to order at 6:07 p.m.Chris Feehan, Terry Newcomb, and Casey
DeHoedt were in attendance.Corey Paige
and Jay Pierschbacher were not present.Jim Larrington was present at the meeting.

Duane stated that he was to get paperwork to Ellen Walker at
USDA regarding the sewer and state revolving funds to assist in our sewer
project.

In regards to water meter project funding, the Council
discussed using local option sales tax funds and using funds from the garbage
fund.The Council also looked at funds
that could be left in the water fund at the end of this fiscal year.

Chris Feehan made a motion to use funds from the garbage
account to buy water meters and Terry seconded
it.The Council was informed by the
state auditor that a resolution must be passed to declare a surplus in garbage
and put in the resolution how the surplus figure was determined and whether or
not the money will be paid back to the garbage fund.

The Council decided to buy all new water meters contingent
on finding out when we can amend the next years FY17-18 budget and when funds
can be transferred for the project.

Streets-L.L. Pelling can start the end of June resurfacing
our streets and the city will pay them next fiscal year.

Jim got bids for work to be done on a sink hole at Smith
Street.The Council decided to let the
bid to Kent Loynachan.Casey made a
motion to repair two sink holes-Smith Street and West Street and Terry seconded
the motion.The motion carried
unanimously

Council discussed giving Shawn Davison a deadline of June 30
for the tree removal project.Chris made
a motion to inform Shawn of this deadline and Casey seconded it.The motion carried unanimously.

Casey made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:07 p.m. and
Terry seconded it. Motion passed unanimously
3-0. The next regular council meeting will be on June 5th at 7 p.m.

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Russell is privileged to reap the benefits of the
school lunch program. Each weekday

from 11:10-11:35 a meal can
be picked up at the Library/Museum for ages 1-18. There will be no enrollment
or costs for the meals.

Congratulation to our Local Graduates

We offer our congratulations and best wishes to all
our local or former residents on their graduation from high school-Carver Dow,
Joe McCurdy, Raegan Beck, Levi Gwinn, Levi Abbas, Chandler Briggs,Caden Steinhausen, and Jake Whitham, the
grandson of Terry Newcomb from Cassville, Mo.

Samantha McCurdy has graduated form Iowa State
University with a degree in graphic design.

If we missed anyone, we apologize and would like to
include them in a future edition.Please
let us know.

Calendar

Monday, June 5th, 7 p.m. Russell City
Council meeting

Tuesday, June 6th,6 p.m. American Legion/Auxiliary meeting

Wednesday, June 7th,6:30 p.m. Faith United Methodist Night Owls - Deloris Werts is the
hostess and will have the lesson about her daughter's (DeeAnn Walker) trip to
India.

For Russell news
updates try the Russell Historical Society Blog
http://Russelliowahistoricalsociety.blogspot.com. If you have comments,
suggestions or you want to volunteer for this column, please
e-mail myoak10@gmail.com or call 641-535-2402, or contact Casey at
www.facebook.com/russell.iowa or 641-931- 6008, or dehoedtc@gmail.com